Valencia, 18 June 2021 – The Generalitat Valenciana, Fundación Valenciaport and the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), with the support of the association Propeller Valencia, have joined forces to launch the FP Dual Port Immersion, the first edition of which began on-site classes in the port of Valencia on 31 May. The main objective of this training is for the students to be familiar with the most common operations in the companies of the logistics-port community and to be able to carry out their work effectively and efficiently, thus favouring their subsequent incorporation into the labour market.
Through this project, students of the higher degrees in International Trade and Transport and Logistics are being trained as managers of transport companies, as well as freight forwarding and shipping companies, receiving a total of 2,600 hours of training, of which 800 hours will be work experience in companies in the sector (400 of which will be dual training hours paid by means of a grant).
On the other hand, it is also planned to launch in the 2022-2023 academic year a new Port Logistics Specialisation VET, coordinated between the Directorate General for Vocational Training and Special Regime Education of the Regional Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Fundación Valenciaport, the APV and the Pere Boil Institute of Manises. This programme, focused on the field of commerce, logistics and transport, also emphasises the port environment in order to respond to the needs of a sector that employs 39,000 people every year. The programme will be taught at the Pere Boil Institute, which will act as a pilot for this initiative, and will be bilingual, based on digitalisation and innovation and will include innovative methodologies, workshops and simulations. It will also reinforce the international vision with the possibility of internships for students abroad.
The Port of Valencia and its business community have a very important boosting effect on the Valencia Region (they generate 2.5% of the GDP and 2% of regional employment), which is why the Port Authority, Fundación Valenciaport and the Regional Ministry of Education have joined forces to coordinate these initiatives.
In this context, and in order to learn first-hand about the reality of the sector and this new Dual Vocational Training, the Regional Secretary for Education and Vocational Training, Miguel Soler, visited the Fundación Valenciaport and the infrastructures of the Port of Valencia on Thursday. During the meeting, the Regional Secretary for Education and Vocational Training, together with the President of the APV, Aurelio Martínez, reiterated the common objective of promoting Vocational Training linked to the Logistics-Port Sector, which is key to the generation of wealth and employment in a sector with a large presence in the Valencian Community and with great potential for growth, thanks to the tractor effect of key infrastructures such as the Port of Valencia.
The president of the PAV expressed his satisfaction with this new vocational training project coordinated by Fundación Valenciaport to those responsible for education, “given that it pursues the objective of training higher vocational training technicians in port operations related to international trade, transport and logistics that meet the requirements of the various agents operating in the port ecosystem”. “At present – recalled Martínez – the port and its companies support almost 39,000 jobs and when the new terminal is completed, the activity of Valenciaport will generate more than 44,000 jobs. The ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia will be more ecological, more eco-efficient, more technological, more internationally connected to the needs of logistics, and for this they will need more highly trained professionals with more technical profiles”.
The regional secretary for Education and Vocational Training visited the PAV’s training classrooms and toured the CSP terminal, where he learned about the operation of the facilities from its Production Director, Eduardo Orellana. Subsequently, he visited the northern extension of the port and the breakwater, inside which the future container terminal will be located.
The visit was attended by Manuel Gomicia, Director General of Vocational Training and Special Regime Education; Carmen Navarro Sampedro, Deputy Director General of Innovation, Research and Digital Culture of Vocational Training and Vocational Education and Joan Sarrión, Deputy Director General of Management and Planning of Vocational Training and Vocational Education on behalf of the Regional Ministry of Education. They were accompanied by Antonio Torregrosa, General Director of Fundación Valenciaport, Ana Rumbeu, Training Director of Fundación Valenciaport and Pedro Coca, President of Propeller Club.
Commitment to training and job placement.
All these initiatives aim to boost employability in the sector, which is demanding specialised personnel that incorporate new skills such as digital competences, linguistic competences in English and port-related competences, in order to face the new challenges of the port of the future with guarantees.
